


Breathe

by dorkpatroller



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Curses, Falling In Love, Getting Together, M/M, MerMay, NOT The Little Mermaid, but sort of has some elements, fairy tale, fred!owain, mermaid au, odin goes by owain, only one of them knows they're enemies, sort of enemies to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-03-01 00:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18789730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorkpatroller/pseuds/dorkpatroller
Summary: The merpeople and humans have been at war for longer than Leo has been alive. Now his father is dying because of their ruthlessness, and he's come to find that it's all because the humans stole a valuable, healing opal from them. Leo is going to do everything in his power to get that stone back and save his father's life, even if it means pretending to be human himself so he can steal it back.





	Breathe

The ship lurches and tosses in the rocky waves. The sky is dark and a storm is crashing down all around them. Thunder and lightning are crackling in Lissa’s ears, but all she can think about is her baby. He’s only a year old, but he’s already an adventurous boy. He walks and toddles all over the place now, and any other day she would encourage it with clapping and big hugs and kisses… but not today. Today her heart is slamming so hard against her lungs she might die. “Freddy,” She sputters, turning in a slow circle. “I don’t see him. Where _is_ he?”

 

The storm came on ferociously out of nowhere. The skies were perfectly blue and calm just seconds before, and that's how they know it's an attack. The king of the merpeople can summon storms and manipulate the ocean. He's likely retaliating against the Plegians, who attacked their people… but he's retaliating against the wrong humans.

 

“You’re sure he’s not below deck?” Frederick shouts, but Lissa can barely hear him over the storm. She’s _completely_ sure he's not below deck. He was just playing with his toys on the deck a few minutes before. She's about to argue, but then she hears a wail over the drumming thunder and watches, horrified, as her baby slides off the deck, below the rail, and into the ocean.

 

If it's the thudding of her heart or of her footsteps ringing in her ears, Lissa can't be sure. She sprints to the ship's rail and vaults herself over it. The next thing she knows she's diving into the unforgiving sea. Frederick's voice echoes in her ears: a cry of fear.

 

The ocean around her is frigid and black. The salt stings at her eyes, but she forces them open anyway. She can’t make out much, but she can see a shape sinking away from her and that’s her best bet. It’s all she can do to even swim downwards against the harsh currents tossing her left and right. She’s nearly swept away by the storm herself, but finally, after ages, she wraps her hand around the tiny fingertips of her son.

 

Her lungs burn. By the time she's near the surface, she gets a small lungful of water, but she pulls Owain up to her chest anyway. Frederick leans over the rail desperately, terrified. He shouts when he sees her, and seconds later tosses down a life preserver and a rope ladder.

 

It’s too long of a process. Her little baby isn’t breathing. Frederick rips him from her arms as soon as she’s close enough that he can, and while she finishes climbing up he starts trying to clear his lungs. He pushes on his little chest, breathes into his mouth. His hair is plastered to his forehead and his little hands are curled up with his fingers twitching… but he’s not coughing.

 

“Please,” She whispers to anyone. To Owain, To Frederick, to Naga, to _anyone_ who will listen. She folds her hands and prays to anyone, to anything, and she’s rewarded with… a light. A soft, purple light wraps around the deck of the ship. It’s ghostly and murky, like being lost in a fog. When it clears there is a woman left where it was. She has long, fluttering wings like a dragonfly.

 

She's not overly beautiful or ethereal. She's just a fairy, and Lissa wonders for a quarter second if a fairy's blessing wouldn't be worth the risk. It's too late now, though. Now that the fairy is here she settles on her knees in front of Frederick and near little Owain's head.

 

“Can you help him?” Frederick asks, plainly. She looks at Owain and reaches down to touch his cheek. Lissa tries not to flinch.

 

“Yes.”

 

…

20 years later

…

 

Humans stoop to dirty tricks. The war against them has been raging since before Leo was even born. HE’s never known a human to be anything but monstrous and cold. They dump garbage and poison into the sea, they pollute it with fuel and soaps that make it hard to breathe down here. That alone would almost be tolerable, though, if they weren’t doing it on _purpose_.

 

Now he’s near his father’s bedside. He’s a good man. King Garon has ruled as the king of this ocean for over half a century. He’s still young, yet, his rule could continue on for many years to come, if not for these damned humans. It’s their fault this war began in the first place, and it’s taking a toll on the entire sea. Species of fish that were once abundant are dying, there are places uninhabitable now… and while most of the problems stem from one area, the humans who sit around doing nothing to stop it are just as guilty as the humans who cause it themselves.

 

When the king called all four of his children in at once, Leo hoped it was anything but to say goodbye. He was wrong, of course. They've said all there is to say now, though. Elise is crying and curled up in his arms. Camilla is sitting on the side of his bed and straightening out his hair and beard. Xander is doing all he can to avoid pacing the room… and Leo is sick of it.

 

This cannot be the end.

 

He dashes out of the room leaving an angry current behind him. He hasn't swum far from the castle when he's caught by Niles. "Where are you going?" He asks. He pulls hard at Leo's tail in a way just sharp enough to hurt, and Leo comes to a stop to shoot him the darkest glare he can muster.

 

"I'm going to find Iago."

 

Niles scoffs like it’s the craziest thing he’s ever heard. “The sorcerer? He was exiled. It’s dangerous! I wouldn’t be a very good retainer if I let you do that.”

 

"Well it's a good thing you're not the boss of me, then," Leo says. He turns to keep up the pace. Iago was exiled, that much is true. He worked for Garon as his advisor, once. He helped come up with many tactics to fight against the humans and their vile attacks. That said… he was a bad man, and ultimately trying to usurp the throne. When he was caught in his attempts Garon sent him away, where he couldn't hurt the underwater kingdom of Nohr or any of its residents.

 

He didn't go far, though. Just a short way outside of the castle town, Windmire, there is a blackened underwater volcano. Fish and merpeople and anyone in his right mind really avoids that place. Iago is there, they all know it.

 

Niles catches up to him and Leo rolls his eyes. “You don’t have to follow me,” He says. “I know you don’t approve.”

 

“I have to follow you,” Niles argues. He glances above them. The skies are turning darker, and the sunlight is no longer filtering through the waves above them. “Someone has to be there to say ‘I told you so’ when you die.”

 

He looks cheerful enough saying it, but the frown on his lips is tight and his gills twitch in a way that gives him away. He's worried. Leo would be too if he had the time. But his father is dying and he _doesn’t_ have time.

 

The mouth of the cave is at the top of the volcano. It hasn't been active as far back as anyone can remember, but it's still horrific to think of the fires that bubbled even into the ocean. The entrance has developed jagged rocks that spring up like teeth from all sides as if they're diving right into a shark's mouth. It's a tight squeeze. Niles is a little bulkier than Leo is, he has to push against the rocks to get his hips through. "I don't like this," He finally says out loud.

 

"I know you don't," Leo whispers back.

 

“It would be hard to escape quickly, we don’t know what’s down here, and we’re not even _armed._ We shouldn’t go any further,” While they’re talking they’re still. Niles’s hair floats up around him and it’s about the only part of Niles Leo can even see in this darkness. What they should have brought were lights, not weapons.

 

“He’s the only one who can help,” Leo mumbles back. He hesitates. He can tell Niles is upset, obviously. He reaches for his shoulder and pats it. “Niles, you can go back without me. I’ll be fine.”  
  
“I’m not going back.”  
  
“Then come on.” Leo pushes onward. Once his eyes adjust to the cave a little better it’s easier to see, but no easier to navigate. He loses which way is up and which is down, and it’s dangerous. Stalactites and stalagmites stretch up and down like they’re trying to bite into them. The surfaces of the cave are thick with foliage that threatens to snag them if they get too close. There aren’t many landmarks, but there are many caverns and turns. The water is still, it’s not like in the open ocean. It’s like everything is void, it’s like they’re not even moving. Niles keeps glancing behind them… and Leo has to admit he’s beginning to get nervous as well. He only becomes more nervous when an inky, black cloud surrounds them. Not like squid ink, nothing like that. It’s just _darkness_ and it's terrifying. It chokes him for a moment, floods the gills at his neck, and Leo reaches up to cover them only to see a glistening, eerie eye not far away. "N-Niles," he chokes.

 

"Young Prince Leo," Iago says. The darkness parts for him. It floods away as if it were his hair, swirling around his head. His lips curl into an awful, crooked smirk. He taps his fingers against his lips. "What an unpleasant surprise. Have you come to sing my praises?"

 

He feels small when he’s compared to Iago, but Leo needs to be bold. He makes a point to straighten himself, to puff his chest out, and he shakes his head. “I don’t sing praises of men who don’t earn it. I came to seek answers.”

 

“I have a few of those. Lies too, of course,” Iago hums. “What is it that you seek?”

 

“My father was poisoned by the humans,” Leo answers. He pulls his lips into a thin frown. “I need to know how to save his life.”

 

“Oh! Well, I needn’t even lie to you for that. It’s an impossible task, but there is a cure for what ails him.” Iago swirls his hand in the water. An image appears, like a projection. It’s a large gemstone resting on a pillow in a display case. It’s not wet. “Back when this war began the humans stole this rainbow opal from us. It’s an enchanted gemstone, one that can heal any illness.”

 

Leo has never heard of it. “A rainbow opal?” He asks. “It’s on display somewhere, then. Where is it kept?”

 

“The human castle to the east. With the walls around the coast, as if they think they own part of the ocean. Vile things.”

 

Leo does know of that castle.  Its walls come out deep into the ocean, and they're taller than Leo can reasonably see necessary. He rarely comes to the surface of the ocean, but he's seen that one. Ocean water flows into their beach through metal grates. If they try, they can maneuver the bars so they can squeeze inside. It wouldn't get them far seeing as how they can't get on land, but it would be easy to sneak in as a start.

 

The only thing wrong with that is that the castle belongs to humans who have never attacked. They're still terrible. They still play their own part in this war simply by being on the land and breathing the air. "Why would that castle--Ylisstol?" He glances at Niles but he just shrugs his shoulders. "Why would they keep the stone in that castle?"

 

“To fool us, obviously,” Iago says. “It’s as if they think by hiding the rock in a castle yet to battle they think they’re hiding it in plain sight. But we aren’t so easily fooled.” Iago swirls his hand again and the image disappears.

 

“If it’s in a castle we aren’t getting it,” Niles says. He folds his arms around his chest. “We can’t breathe up there, and we can’t sneak into a tower. Give us a better alternative.”

 

“There isn’t one,” Iago says. “That gemstone is the only thing that can certainly cure his majesty.”

 

Leo could growl. He’s so frustrated! He clenches his hands into fists and says “Then how do we _get_ to it?”

 

“Marvelous you asked. I can turn you human for five days. That should be ample time to make your way to gemstone and back to the sea. Don’t you think?”

 

“Human?” Niles asks. Leo tries not to grimace. He wouldn’t want to be human. They’re ugly with those scrawny legs and weird feet and they’re often ugly on the inside too. Evolution didn’t favor them. Not only that but walking among them would be dangerous. One hint that Leo wasn’t human himself could get him killed.

 

It might be the only way to save his father, though. Leo looks between them nervously. Niles will want him to decline, that’s certain. “It won’t take us long,” Leo decides.

 

“Oh, I can’t turn you both,” Iago says. He seems a little too gleeful while he says it. “I’ve only the power for one, I’m afraid.”

 

“Then bets off!” Niles snarls.

 

“No, I’ll do it.” Leo can feel Niles glaring at him, but he doesn’t have much more than a beat. Iago grins and his fingertips glow an ominous red. “Wait. What _exactly_ will this do to me?”

 

“All it will do is make you human. You’ll be exactly the same but with legs to sneak into the castle and steal the opal. How hard can it be? And once you have it you’ll take it right back to your father and he’ll be saved,” Iago says. “May I?”

 

It sounds too good to be true. Can this really happen? Will Garon be alright? This is obviously some kind of game to Iago. He must want to steal that opal for himself, but he won’t get it if Leo has anything to say about it. It’s fair, anyway. If this opal was really stolen by the humans… then stealing it back is reasonable. He needs it. He nods his head.

 

The pain he feels is like death. Leo screams when that red light envelops him. It feels like a sword is cutting his tail in two right down the center. His hips burn, his chest throbs, and then he can’t even scream because the gills melt off of his neck and his mouth fills with water. Before he even knows what’s happening Niles has him around his wrist and he’s _moving._ Faster than ever, faster than Leo thinks anyone has ever swum, and thank goodness. Leo can't even figure out how to move these stupid legs, all he knows is his chest is burning. It's terrible. They clear the mouth of the volcano. Niles whizzes right through it as if it weren't a tight squeeze at all, but Leo can see blood in the water where he cut his hip on the rock.

 

He can see it at first, that is, but his vision is starting to go dark. He’s suffocating… was this Iago’s plan all along? His grip on Niles’s hand slacks, but Niles squeezes tighter, tighter… until he flings Leo past him and they both break the surface of the water. “Leo,” He wheezes.

 

Leo chokes, sputters. He’s coughing and Niles doesn’t know what to do so all he does is stare. Leo doesn’t know what to do either, but he vomits some water from his lungs so that must be a start. He has _lungs._ He has them, and they’re aching, burning, until finally the coughing subsides and Leo looks at Niles pitifully.

 

He looks so relieved, for a moment. Just a moment, before he lets Leo go so he can dip back down into the water and back up. So that he can breathe, that is. He doesn't breathe the air better than any other fish, but he's good at holding his breath. In that brief moment he lets go, though, Leo nearly plummets back into the sea. Niles catches him at his waist and brings him back up… but Leo is forced to admit a new challenge. "I can't swim," he says. "I can't do anything with these legs, I don't know how."

 

“Learn fast,” Niles mutters. He turns and points to Castle Ylisstol. It isn’t that far, maybe an hour’s swim, but Leo couldn’t swim three feet, let alone an hour. He sounds like he’s going to leave Leo here, but they both know he won’t. He just wraps his arm under Leo’s and drags him gently through the water. Now and then he dives below to breathe, but he doesn’t let Leo’s head tip beneath the surface.

 

Silence is settled over them for twenty minutes before Niles finally groans. “This is a trap, Leo.”

 

“I’m aware.”

 

“I can’t go with you--what if they kill you? What if this dumb spell wears off the second you walk inside? They’ll make you into some morbid trophy.”

 

“If I don’t do this, who will? My siblings have all but given up, as has my father. Five days is plenty of time for me to get back, and we’ll stay clear of Iago until we can be sure the opal has been given to my father.”

 

"When you get back, give me a proper burial, because if I go home without you your father will have me killed."

 

Oh. That’s a real possibility. Leo doesn’t think it would happen, but the only way to avoid it would be to explain where Leo went… which he can’t do, because if they think Leo is in danger of being killed by these humans, they’ll probably just summon a storm to destroy the castle. Finding the opal then will impossible.

 

“You should stay close to the castle. If I need you I’ll be able to find you easily… and you can slip in and out through those grates.”

 

“So can you,” Niles mutters. “To escape.” It’s clear he hates all of this. Leo can’t help it now though. All he can do is try to learn quickly how to be a human man, and find a reasonable way to get into the castle. Maybe he can pose as some kind of servant.

 

By the time they get there, Leo has taught himself how to swim a little bit. It's not graceful, by any means, but he thinks it can get him through the grate. Niles follows behind him, ready to yank him back up to the surface for air if he needs to… and only squawks once when Leo kicks him in the face on accident.

 

When they make it to the other side, it’s like a regular beach. Sure, there’s a giant wall surrounding it, but the ocean waves bounce against the shore gently. This is only a side entrance to the castle, but there are ornate doors and sparkling walls. The castle has several towers, the highest of which rise above even the absurd wall. “What do you wanna bet that rock is up there?” Niles whispers.

 

“I’m sure it’s well guarded,” Leo whispers back. “I haven’t even got any clothes--Iago set us up for disaster from the start.”

 

“Oh? You didn’t get that from the way you nearly drowned?” Niles asks. He could stand to tone down the sarcasm. “Look, there. Their gates are open.”

 

“So?”

 

“So they let civilians into the castle. Maybe they’ll believe you went for a swim.”

 

“Nude?” Leo asks, “On the castle’s beach?”

 

“Well if you wanted my opinion you wouldn’t be here right now, so I don’t see why I’m offering it.”

 

"Hush, I'm sorry," Leo says. "Yes, of course, I want your opinions and I value your advice. I'm just pressed on time to come up with a plan and--oh, no."

 

There’s a human walking right towards the beach. Leo makes a strangled noise and pushes Niles under the water… and then he sinks as low in it as he dares. He hopes to go unnoticed, but more than that he hopes that Niles has the good sense to get out of the castle walls. He’s a merman, they’ll notice that.

 

Unfortunately, he's caught. The human who wanders over doesn't seem to notice him at first… but then waves and wanders to the edge of the water. He's barefoot, wearing white pants but they're rolled up and cuffed at his knees. His shirt is thin and has a v-shaped neckline… and his hair is bright and blonde like the sunshine behind him. "Hoy there! Are you enjoying yourself?"

 

Oh, lords. He’s a smart man. He can do this. “Not at all,” He calls back. He watches the man dip his head, curiously. Good. “I’m from out of town and when I arrived a thief robbed me blind. I woke up nude on this beach. I’m not even sure I know where I am.”

 

It’s not a great lie. It must work, though. Humans are wildly naive. He walks closer to the water and Leo notices a white _something_ in his hand. “Here, use this towel. You’re from out of town? Ylisstol is well known for its generosity and kindness… I’m so sorry this is how your first moments inside our city played out. No longer! I will see to it personally that your stay is comfortable and free of hooligans.”

 

Towel. Towel. They use small towels to wipe down surfaces when grime gathers on them. He offered him a towel when he made up that story about clothes… it’s much larger anyway. It must be to make himself decent. (Having exposed genitalia is one of many reasons humans are so absurd looking.) He takes it and awkwardly tries to wrap it around himself… but he finds the man’s arms under his elbows to pull him up to shore as well. It makes the process easier, but Leo’s knees buckle under him. He’s never _stood_ before.

 

“I--oh!” Leo gasps as he nearly falls, but he’s caught easily.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

Leo tries to figure this out. He can lock his knees forward but that doesn’t help. He rocks back and forth experimentally before he shakes his head. “I’m a bit woozy.”

 

“You should rest! My name is Owain.” The prince. That’s the name of the human prince. No wonder he walked right out of the castle. “I insist you let me help you to a spare room. We’ll get you into bed with fresh clothes and a meal. I won’t let this injustice pass! As soon as we find out who did this to you, we’ll punish them appropriately.”

 

He's an idiot. Leo leans his weight on Owain. He wraps his arm around Leo's waist while Leo clings to the towel to keep it in place.  He walks on shaky legs right into the castle. He didn't even have to sneak inside, the prince was foolish enough to let him in through the door. He looks over his shoulder and catches a glimpse of white while Niles dives back down under the water. He takes a deep breath of air--it still stings a bit.

 

He can do this. He’s going to find the rainbow opal and he’s going to save his father, no matter what.


End file.
